Debbie Allen leads tributes to Hinton Battle

Three-time Tony Award winner Hinton Battle has passed away, aged 74.

Having worked across stage, movies and television, the Broadway luminary had collected a swag of awards during his lifetime, including three Tony Awards for his work in musical theatre.

Battle was remembered in an Instagram post by his friend Debbie Allen.

“Today I honor Hinton Battle, my dear friend who left us to dance and sing in God’s Ensemble last night,” Allen wrote, captioning a collage of photos of Battle in his prime.

“He fought this battle to live and be creative impacting audiences and young people across the globe.”

Born in Germany, Battle made his Broadway debut aged just 15 when he played the Scarecrow in The Wiz.

He went on to forge a stellar stage career, starring in Dancin’, Sophisticated Ladies, Dreamgirls, The Tap Dance Kid, Miss Saigon and Chicago. He won the Best Actor Tony award in 1981, 1984 and 1991.

Later in life, Battle extended his repertoire to TV work, appearing in hit shows including Quantum Leap, Touched by an Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

He also choreographed several dance numbers for the Academy Awards, and had a starring role in the movie version of Dreamgirls.